Why IT Finance Leaders Must Act Now

I just got back from TBM Conference 2025 in Miami, where more than 800 practitioners, vendors, and consultants gathered to discuss the future of technology business management (TBM). The message was clear: TBM is more approachable than ever before. It’s also becoming a foundation for cost transparency and value alignment outside of IT. Here are my main takeaways.

Launching TBM: Don’t Go It Alone

Standing up TBM is complex. Leaders must design allocation models with dozens of drivers across multiple layers. Until recently, the TBM Council offered only white papers and static resources. That changed this year with the launch of live training modules and practitioner certification. These programs provide expert guidance and real-time support, which are critical for accelerating adoption and avoiding costly missteps.

Actions that CIOs and IT finance leaders should take:

The faster you embed TBM principles into your culture, the sooner you’ll deliver transparency and strategic value.

Expanded Sponsorship Signals Market Maturity

For 12 years, Apptio dominated TBM Conference sponsorship. This year, YäRKEN and CostPerform joined the stage, signaling a major shift: TBM is becoming more vendor-agnostic. This independence matters because it gives enterprises flexibility to tailor TBM implementations to their unique needs rather than conforming to a single tool.

What this means for you:

Forrester’s Priorities Survey, 2025, indicates that fewer than half of IT finance practices use a third-party IT financial management (ITFM) solution. Diversification in the ITFM solution market means more options and better alignment with your operating model.
Forrester’s ITFM solutions landscape report (December 2025) and Forrester Wave™ evaluation (Q2 2026) will help you navigate this growing ecosystem.

Action: Evaluate your current ITFM solution. Does it support your TBM roadmap or force you into compromises? If it does not support your roadmap, explore alternatives.

TBM Is Evolving Into EBM: Are You Ready?

Forward-thinking organizations are extending TBM beyond IT into enterprise business management (EBM). Facilities, HR, and other functions are adopting TBM principles to manage complex cost structures and align spending with business outcomes. This trend is accelerating, and it will reshape how enterprises approach financial transparency.

Actions for leaders to take:

Identify non-IT functions that could benefit from TBM’s taxonomy and reporting structure.
Anticipate competition/redundancy from enterprise cost management vendors such as Oracle and SAP as EBM gains traction.
Align your cost accounting teams with TBM practices to avoid process conflicts.

EBM isn’t a distant vision; it’s happening now. CIOs who lead this expansion will position IT as a strategic partner across the enterprise.

What To Do Next

TBM Conference 2025 underscored the value of TBM as a blueprint for financial transparency and value realization across the entire enterprise. Whether you’re launching a TBM practice, rethinking your ITFM tools, or preparing for EBM, book a guidance session with me to talk more about next steps.

Also, explore Forrester’s upcoming ITFM solutions landscape report in December to find the right tools for your TBM journey and start building the capabilities that will define the next era of enterprise financial management.